BN's overdone propaganda BACKFIRES: Pakatan forges ahead in VOTERS' ESTEEM

Iskandar Dzulkarnain

Malaysians are at a crossroad, torn between the decision to vote for either Barisan Nasional or the Pakatan Rakyat. For many, it is a difficult decision as so many things have to be factored in.

How many Malaysians will be lucky enough to make a choice based on their own free will? How many of them will vote based on receiving monetary gifts and election goodies that are being shamelessly dished out by the BN government? And how many would be willing to vote contrary to their families’ wishes especially if their relatives are standing for the election or are bigwigs in the BN government?

I really wonder, how many Malaysians will be tempted to sell their votes? The answer might shock some but human nature has always been unreliable rather than constant. Remember the saying – the only certainty is uncertainty!

Yes, come every election, there will be opportunists out there wishing to make a quick buck by selling their votes. There will also be politicians out there ever willing to buy these votes. And the price per vote has just gone up!

Money talks!

Politicians really need to have deep pockets. Unless you have a face that sells, you have to dish out money to attract and pacify the electorate. Money does talk, and the more you have, the better chance you stand. It’s a big risk to invest all that money in an election where the risk is 50/50, but if you don’t spend, you might just as well kiss your seat Goodbye!

The winners get to recoup their investment once they are in government. New projects will be initiated to ensure they get a return for their investment and for helping the good ship BN retain power. There is another saying: a stupid politician is a politician who does not know how to make use of his position to make money!

So in the end, we the Rakyat (populace) are the ones that turned them into monsters!

But all is not lost. We can still discard these monsters and hopefully the next batch would be a little less sly. And hopefully too, the new batch would respect and treat the Rakyat as their political masters and not mistakenly put on the pedestal their political Party.

BNl’s delay to hold the the 13th general election is a blessing in disguise for Pakatan as more Malaysians are starting to open their eyes to all the filth and hanky-panky generated by the current government. It’s all floating up to the surface.

Immunity from over-dosage

Even the over dosage of BN propaganda broadcast daily without fail on TV and the newspapers have not convinced the Rakyat including those who resides deep in the countryside and in the Felda plantations. Should the rural folk vote BN, it would be because they are the traditional BN die-hards and not because they are not aware of the BN’s wrongdoings.

The current amount of mass propaganda unleashed is really not normal in Malaysian society. There is even a May 13 movie to depict the DAP in a poor light. But since the Pakatan made significant advances in the last election, this barrage of ‘brainwashing’ has not only worsened but has become downright annoying and irritating. Today, Malaysians shake their heads in disgust at all the concocted disinformation that seeks to portray the Opposition in a bad light.

Many would prefer the BN to be more generous-spirited and embrace a 2-party democratic system. But this is too much to expect from the likes of the Umno warlords, who have never been known for their civility nor for their sense of refinement and sensitivity.

That the Rakyat are fed up is evident from signs that the more the BN malign the Opposition, the more the people raise the Pakatan leaders to the status of heroes. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot! Indeed, many of the Rakyat are starting to write BN news and accusations as cheap spins devoid of evidence aimed to unfairly discredit the Opposition at all costs. They are beginning to feel insulted that the BN rates their intelligence so lowly.

It is a rare phenomenon now taking place in Malaysia. The over-dosage of propaganda is causing a reverse psychological disorder in the masses breeding contempt towards the incumbent government for mocking their right to choose, and generally treating them like low IQ serfs.

For example, the recent attempts to convict Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim on trumped up charges has only made him a superhero in the eyes of the humble folk that swarm the coffee-shops and ‘teh tarik warongs’ in the countryside.

Even these simple folk think that it is‘overkill’ and cruel persecution by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s government. Their respect for Anwar has only increased much to the dismay of the BN government, which had hoped that by manipulating and spinning Anwar’s ‘downfall’, they could cripple the Pakatan Rakyat.

So despite spending hundreds of millions of ringgit on public relations consultants and spin doctors, many of the Rakyat remain unconvinced that Pakatan will be a disaster if elected to head the federal government. Many of them are tempted to vote Opposition this time – not just to spite the BN by sending them a clear message not to treat the Rakyat with such disrespect, many genuinely want change. And they know the only chance of that happening is a new federal government.

Uncertain fortunes

BN is in a dilemma as statistics show that the majority of the Rakyat in the rural areas are not leaning towards the government this time. Most rural voters are having second thoughts, just like their counterparts in the urban areas.

BN is now stuck, and this is the main reason for Najib’s indecision over the GE-13 date. The coalition which has ruled Malaysian for 5 decades is worried to death that the majority will support the Pakatan this time around.

Even the BN’s traditional vote bank consisting of the Government Linked Companies (GLCs), the Civil Service, Army and Police are no longer safe deposits. The signs are all there and the erosion cannot be mitigated. The society of today which consists of the young, middle aged and the elderly are starting to question the BN’s sincerity and its political direction.

Psychological warfare

At such a late stage, BN has no choice but to launch contingency plans with blanket psychological attacks targeting at a large segment of the population (this would be the Malays), with the hope of being able to shift voter sentiment. The continuous 5-days attack by Umno daily Utusan Malaysia crucifying the Opposition with its “Haram Undi DAP” shows an ill-concealed desperation.

Meanwhile MCA generals are launching full scale attacks like a demon possessed. MCA wannabes are suddenly self-styling themselves as  ‘Don Quixote’ and lunging at arch rivals DAP with the “Hudud’ weapon. This despite the Pakatan having issued a collective statement that Hudud will not be implemented if it takes over Putrajaya (the federal capital).

MCA, Gerakan and MIC are seriously devoid of issues if they have to resort to non-issues like Hudud to scare the Rakyat!

Ibrahim Ali’s ultra Malay-rights group Perkasa is still running around like a headless chicken, trying to protest at everything under the sun, while trying to convince Malaysians of their legitimacy and their ‘sincere’ agenda. Whatever little respect the Rakyat has for the BN coalition has long been torn to shreds by this preposterous and nonsensical NGO.

BN’s diminishing future

The forecast outcome for GE-13 in Peninsular Malaysia is not at all encouraging for BN, and even in a best case scenario, it is unlikely to be able to garner more than 50% of the vote.

So any shift of voter sentiment especially in Sabah or Sarawak would cause BN to topple like skittles. And this is why Najib & Co are now shivering, after a recent slew of defections to the Pakatan side of the fence.

BN leaders are in a dilemma on whether to dig in and fight it out, or follow their better conscience and ship out to a more decent and honorable ship. This dilemma across the once-mighty coalition can be felt in the cold corridors of power, the inner sanctums of which are controlled by UMNO. At the end of the day, it is UMNO which has to take full responsibility for the BN’s collapse and annihilation.

UMNO leaders have to hold the GE-13 real soon to consolidate whatever power they have left and be prepared for their new role as Opposition leaders. Delaying the GE further will cause an irreversible slide in popularity that may shut them out of the power equation completely.

Change your Evil ways

Some pundits have accused the BN’s insistence on screening ‘Tanda Putera’ a controversial reconstruction of the May 13^th racial riots as being aimed to create outrage between the races, and thereby spark an ugly riot. This way, Najib & Co will step in and use the instability as an excuse to impose an Emergency and postpone elections indefinitely.

Don’t ignore this scenario. It is not implausible given the BN’s desperation. But our bet is that Malaysians will be too smart to take the bait and should BN defer elections, there will be Hell to pay.

Very likely, instead of spending time on the Opposition aisle in Parliament, most of the BN leaders will be spending time in prison if they try such a trick. Good idea for Najib & Co to start mulling this possibility and repent while there is still time, instead of trying to dish out one diabolical plot after another!

GOD BLESS MALAYSIA!

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